360 degree Bookmatch

[plantman]

Several months ago someone asked if they could bookmatch a blank in order to make a unique design on a pen. The answer was of cource YES you can, but if you do it lenghtwise with the grain, by the time you turn it to size you have lost most of your unique grain pattern. After thinking about this idea for a while I cam up with one solution to keeping the bookmatch unique with a 360 degree match all the way around the pen. The pen is a Woodcraft El Grande Fountain Pen in gold and black trim. The blanks were made from a 1" X 4" wide Cocobolo plank, and finished in 8 coats of thick CA. Sanded to 1200 and polished using One-Step Plastic Polish.

 

[Dick Mahany]

I like your execution, however with my luck, given the triple start threads for the cap, I'd likely have to screw the cap on 2 or three attempts to get it looking as great as you did

Very nice pen with a cool look, and that Cocobolo is beautiful !

 

[mark james]

Incredible Grains Jim! Great pen. I love the effort to solve a challenge!

 

[BSea]

That is very cool. I sure wish you had taken some before pics of the blanks.

 

[Cwalker935]

Beautiful pen. What exactly is book matching? I'll have to check the library again. While I got a little lost in understanding what you did, I love the result.

 

[plantman]

Beautiful pen. What exactly is book matching? I'll have to check the library again. While I got a little lost in understanding what you did, I love the result.

Book matching is the process of taking a plank and sawing it in half while holding it on edge. Also known as resawing. After you cut the board, hold the two sawn edges together and open them as you would a book. Lay them together on a flat surface and you will have two identical reversed grain patterns, or book matched pamels. This is easy to do on a flat surface because you are only working with two dimentions, but requires a little more thought, planning, and acurate measuring and drilling when doing it in 3D. Jim S

 

[OZturner]

Magnificent Pen, Jim.
Glorious Blank, and again you have developed a solution for a problem, that most of us didn't know existed.
Your Craftsmanship never ceases to amaze me.
Congratulations,
Brian.

 

[Cwalker935]

Thanks for the explanation. That is very helpful. My mind is a little blown in thinking about how you were able to book match the opposing sides. I am going to puzzle on this for a while. I hope you won't mind if I come back with questions.

 

[Cwalker935]

I think that I may have it. Can you post a picture facing the clip?

 

[hippi]

very nice

 

[Krash]

I did one a while back, coincidentally in cocobolo also. Yours was more dramatic than mine but the bookmatching definitely creates a nice effect.

Nice job on the pen!

Here's a link to mine. It has some additional pictures of the blank beforehand.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f179/bookmatching-pen-blanks-120278/

 

[plantman]

I think that I may have it. Can you post a picture facing the clip?

Not the best photo as I didn't set up to take photos, only shot freehand with desk lamp. Jim S

 

[terry q]

It's the small details that take a pen from good to great. Well done.

 

[Band Saw Box]

Really cool pen, you did a fantastic job on the book matching.

 

[plantman]

I think that I may have it. Can you post a picture facing the clip?

Not the best photo as I didn't set up to take photos, only shot freehand with desk lamp. Jim S

If you are looking for seams or glue lines, there are none. Jim S

 

[Cwalker935]

I'm still puzzling through it. I thought that I had figured out a solution and that you would have one visible seam but obviously I was wrong. Are you saying there are no seams or that there are no visible seams?

 

[plantman]

I'm still puzzling through it. I thought that I had figured out a solution and that you would have one visible seam but obviously I was wrong. Are you saying there are no seams or that there are no visible seams?

There are no seams. The barrels were made from two different solid pieces of wood cut from the same plank. Jim S

 

[Cwalker935]

Arrgh. Well played sir.

 

[plantman]

Maybe this will help you. The method I use is as follows. Select a board with some crazy wild grain in it. Measure the thickness of the board. Crosscut the board to this thickness making a square endgrain blank. Place the two blanks side by sde as they were cut from the board. Mark the surface for later referance and grain match. Swing the two blanks out to make one long blank. Now you have an endgrain bookmatched 360 degree pattern. The next steps are the tricky part. You must find and mark the exact center of each blank. I use a spring loaded center punch to mark the blank centers. Next mount the blanks in the lathe and use a centering drill to start your holes. Follow with the drill needed to fit your tubes. Glue the tubes in the blanks on the marked end of the blanks as close to te edge as you can. Cut your blanks to length and square the ends. Turn your blanks to whatever shave you desire, but try to keep the two marked ends the same size or close at least. If you have a center band, and are a little off, it won't be noticeable. Finish your blanks, remove from lathe, and check your grain alignment. Remember on a bookmatched piece the two barrels will be mirror images not straight grain matches. Press your fittings in by first matching the grain and than pressing in the parts. There, you have all my secrets !! Crosscutting the board gives you the wild grain patterns, but may also require some CA to hold it together. It's not that hard, just takes a little more time and some precise measuring and drilling. If you have any other question, don't be afraid to ask. Hope this helps !! Jim S

 

[Cwalker935]

Thank you for that detailed explanation and willingness to share your secrets. I don't view myself as a copycat but instead as someone in the apprentice stage. I greatly appreciate your instruction. I do try to figure it out for myself but turn to people like you when I am struggling or find myself wasting time and materials with too much experimentation. I had gotten to the point of figuring out the book matching after a careful study of your pictures but had not thought through the importance of centering. Thanks again.

 

[plantman]

Thank you for that detailed explanation and willingness to share your secrets. I don't view myself as a copycat but instead as someone in the apprentice stage. I greatly appreciate your instruction. I do try to figure it out for myself but turn to people like you when I am struggling or find myself wasting time and materials with too much experimentation. I had gotten to the point of figuring out the book matching after a careful study of your pictures but had not thought through the importance of centering. Thanks again.

I always prefer the term "reproduce" rather than copy !! Only two things can make a copy. A machine and a very highly skilled craftsman. Everything else is a likeness or reproduction of the original !! As you can see, the two big secrets to my methods are, using endgrain blanks, and centering the holes in the matching grain ends of the blanks. It gives me great pleasure to be able to pass on anything I have learned in 71 years to the upcomming generations. As I do this as a way of keeping my mind and hands busy, and not a business or side income, I have no problems in sharing any new ideas I may come up with, and consider it quite a compliment if someone chosses to follow my suggestions. However, I do understand how those that do this for profit, and come up with new ideas, want to keep their methods to themselves as long as they can. I do also believe in the saying that "everything old is new again". I expect to see a photo of you new pen when completed !! Never be afraid to ask!!!! Jim S

 

[plantman]

That is very cool. I sure wish you had taken some before pics of the blanks.

Bob; There is realy nothing special about the blanks, only the way they are cut, drilled, and aligned. I explaned the method in the text above. It does help to have some crazy grained wood to start with, and the end grain cut adds to the overall beauty. If you have any other questions after reading the method, let me know. Jim S

 

[Jim15]

Thank you for sharing your skills.

Maybe this will help you. The method I use is as follows. Select a board with some crazy wild grain in it. Measure the thickness of the board. Crosscut the board to this thickness making a square endgrain blank. Place the two blanks side by sde as they were cut from the board. Mark the surface for later referance and grain match. Swing the two blanks out to make one long blank. Now you have an endgrain bookmatched 360 degree pattern. The next steps are the tricky part. You must find and mark the exact center of each blank. I use a spring loaded center punch to mark the blank centers. Next mount the blanks in the lathe and use a centering drill to start your holes. Follow with the drill needed to fit your tubes. Glue the tubes in the blanks on the marked end of the blanks as close to te edge as you can. Cut your blanks to length and square the ends. Turn your blanks to whatever shave you desire, but try to keep the two marked ends the same size or close at least. If you have a center band, and are a little off, it won't be noticeable. Finish your blanks, remove from lathe, and check your grain alignment. Remember on a bookmatched piece the two barrels will be mirror images not straight grain matches. Press your fittings in by first matching the grain and than pressing in the parts. There, you have all my secrets !! Crosscutting the board gives you the wild grain patterns, but may also require some CA to hold it together. It's not that hard, just takes a little more time and some precise measuring and drilling. If you have any other question, don't be afraid to ask. Hope this helps !! Jim S

 

[BSea]

That is very cool. I sure wish you had taken some before pics of the blanks.

Bob; There is realy nothing special about the blanks, only the way they are cut, drilled, and aligned. I explaned the method in the text above. It does help to have some crazy grained wood to start with, and the end grain cut adds to the overall beauty. If you have any other questions after reading the method, let me know. Jim S

Thanks Jim. I'm pretty sure I know how you did it. I've bookmatched gun grip blanks before. I just wanted to see what the grain looked like before you turned it. I'm sure some knife makers & gun grip makers would cringe that they didn't get a chance at them. But that's not me (anymore). I started a set of grips when I set up my lathe. They still aren't finished.

 

[plantman]

Thank you all for your comments !! Jim S

 

[plantman]

That is very cool. I sure wish you had taken some before pics of the blanks.

Bob; There is realy nothing special about the blanks, only the way they are cut, drilled, and aligned. I explaned the method in the text above. It does help to have some crazy grained wood to start with, and the end grain cut adds to the overall beauty. If you have any other questions after reading the method, let me know. Jim S

Thanks Jim. I'm pretty sure I know how you did it. I've bookmatched gun grip blanks before. I just wanted to see what the grain looked like before you turned it. I'm sure some knife makers & gun grip makers would cringe that they didn't get a chance at them. But that's not me (anymore). I started a set of grips when I set up my lathe. They still aren't finished.

Bob; I also have done bookmatched gun grips and knife slabs. If a can find a board thick enough and with a crazy grain pattern, I will buy a knife kit and try the endgrain method on it. My only worry would be if the end grain would be strong enough to last. I also have an old 22 pistol laying around the shop somewhere with those ugly plastic grips I could experament with that also. Jim S

 

[Tom T]

Very, very nice. Thank you for sharing.

 

[plantman]

It's the small details that take a pen from good to great. Well done.

You are correct Terry !! Sometimes the smallest details will make the biggest impressions. It also helps if you do this as a therapeutic exercise to stay calm and healthy, and have no orders to be filled or deadlines to meet. I think that the defination of retirement is. You can do what you want, when you want, if you want, as long as the wife says it's OK and it correlates in with her plan for the day. Jim S

 

[rblakemore]

I love wood and grain; what a creative method of using your wood.
I really like the pen and grain effect.

 

[plantman]

I love wood and grain; what a creative method of using your wood.
I really like the pen and grain effect.

Thank you !! I thought the pen and grain pattern turned ( no pun intended ) out well. Jim S

 

[plantman]

Magnificent Pen, Jim.
Glorious Blank, and again you have developed a solution for a problem, that most of us didn't know existed.
Your Craftsmanship never ceases to amaze me.
Congratulations,
Brian.

Brian; Thank you for the kind words !!! That piece of wood had been sitting on my shelf for over ten years, probably more !! I follow the James Krenof method of wood selection. When you see a piece of beautiful wood, buy it and put it aside. Sooner or later, after looking at it many times, an idea will come into your mind as to how to use it to it's best advantage to show color, grain, or texture. Krenof always said the wood will tell you what to use it for. I have many pieces of wood that aren't talking !! Jim S